Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Answer of 12 July 2023 to Question 193037 on Universal Credit: Armed Forces, how many Universal Credit claimants have been identified as (a) serving and (b) having served in the armed forces by local authority area for the most recent assessment period.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) started collecting data on the Armed Forces status of Universal Credit (UC) claimants in Great Britain (GB) in April 2021. At first only new claimants were asked about their Armed Forces status. From June 2021 onwards, other UC claimants reporting changes in their work and earnings have also been able to report their status. From July 2021 onwards, UC agents have also been able to record claimants’ Armed Forces status if they are told about this via other means such as journal messages, face-to-face meetings or by telephone.
Data coverage continues to improve over time and by September 2023 data was held on the armed forces status of approximately 67% of the GB UC caseload (see table below). It should be noted that Armed forces status is self-reported by claimants and is not verified by the Ministry of Defence or Office for Veterans’ Affairs. A claimant’s status can be recorded as “currently serving”, “served in the past”, “not served” or “prefer not to say”. Data is not collected on the specific branch of the Armed Forces that claimants are serving in or have served in in the past.
Data is not held on the total number of UC claimants who are currently serving in the Armed Forces or who have served in the past, but data is held on those who have identified themselves so far.
The way the data is collected means the claimants for whom an Armed Forces status is recorded are not representative of the UC caseload as a whole. This means it is not yet possible to produce reliable estimates of the overall number or proportion of UC claimants who are currently serving in the Armed Forces or who have served in the past.
The separate spreadsheet shows how many claimants on the September 2023 UC caseload had a recorded armed forces status of each type, broken down by Local Authority.
Spreadsheet Notes:
1. Data is not collected on the Armed Forces status of UC claimants in Northern Ireland. The figures provided only relate to Great Britain.
2. Figures in the table have been rounded according to the Department’s Official Statistics rounding policy.
3. In line with the latest published People on UC official statistics, provisional figures relating to September 2023 are provided and may be subject to retrospective changes as more up-to-date data becomes available or if methodological improvements are made.
4. Due to methodological improvements, these figures are based on the Official Statistics UC caseload definition. Some answers to previous PQs asking for similar information have used an alternative caseload definition based on assessment period end dates.
5. Further information on the caseload definition used for the UC official statistics can be found on Stat-Xplore: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 8 June 2023 to Question 187857 on Universal Credit: Armed Forces, how many Universal Credit claimants have been identified as (a) serving and (b) having served in the armed forces for the assessment period ending on 1 July 2023.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) started collecting data on the Armed Forces status of Universal Credit (UC) claimants in Great Britain (GB) in April 2021. At first only new claimants were asked about their Armed Forces status. From June 2021 onwards, other UC claimants reporting changes in their work and earnings have also been able to report their status. From July 2021 onwards, UC agents have also been able to record claimants’ Armed Forces status if they are told about this via other means such as journal messages, face-to-face meetings or by telephone.
Data coverage continues to improve over time and by May 2023 data was held on the armed forces status of approximately 64% of the GB UC caseload (see table below). It should be noted that Armed forces status is self-reported by claimants and is not verified by the Ministry of Defence or Office for Veterans’ Affairs. A claimant’s status can be recorded as “currently serving”, “served in the past”, “not served” or “prefer not to say”. Data is not collected on the specific branch of the Armed Forces that claimants are serving in or have served in in the past.
Data is not held on the total number of UC claimants who are currently serving in the Armed Forces or who have served in the past, but data is held on those who have identified themselves so far.
The way the data is collected means the claimants for whom an Armed Forces status is recorded are not representative of the UC caseload as a whole. This means it is not yet possible to produce reliable estimates of the overall number or proportion of UC claimants who are currently serving in the Armed Forces or who have served in the past.
Increases in the numbers of claimants with a recorded status of “currently serving” or “served in the past” do not necessarily mean the overall numbers of claimants who are currently serving or have served in the past have increased and may reflect increases in the number of claimants for whom data is held as data coverage improves over time.
The table below shows how the proportion of the GB UC caseload with a recorded Armed Forces status has changed over time. It also shows how many claimants on the caseload had a recorded status of each type.
GB UC caseload by recorded Armed Forces status
UC caseload month | Proportion of caseload with a recorded status | Currently serving | Served in the past | Not served | Prefer not to say | No recorded status |
July 2022 | 51% | 3,000 | 38,600 | 2,804,200 | 21,000 | 2,753,300 |
August 2022 | 53% | 3,200 | 40,100 | 2,912,500 | 21,800 | 2,683,400 |
September 2022 | 54% | 3,200 | 41,400 | 3,002,500 | 22,400 | 2,614,700 |
October 2022 | 56% | 3,300 | 42,800 | 3,131,700 | 23,400 | 2,530,000 |
November 2022 | 57% | 3,300 | 44,000 | 3,218,300 | 24,000 | 2,467,100 |
December 2022 | 58% | 3,400 | 45,100 | 3,299,400 | 24,600 | 2,407,600 |
January 2023 | 59% | 3,500 | 46,200 | 3,375,000 | 25,400 | 2,349,700 |
February 2023 | 61% | 3,500 | 47,600 | 3,462,600 | 26,200 | 2,296,400 |
March 2023 | 62% | 3,600 | 48,300 | 3,530,800 | 26,700 | 2,243,800 |
April 2023 | 63% | 3,700 | 49,500 | 3,626,300 | 27,500 | 2,189,600 |
May 2023 (provisional) | 64% | 3,900 | 51,000 | 3,739,100 | 28,600 | 2,154,900 |
Notes:
1. Data is not collected on the Armed Forces status of UC claimants in Northern Ireland. The figures provided only relate to Great Britain.
2. Percentages are rounded to the nearest percent and numbers are rounded to the nearest hundred.
3. Provisional figures to May 2023, in line with published People on UC official statistics, are provided and may be subject to retrospective changes as more up-to-date data becomes available or if methodological improvements are made.
4. Due to methodological improvements, these figures are based on the Official Statistics UC caseload definition. Some previous figures have used an alternative caseload definition based on assessment period end dates.
5. Further information on the caseload definition used for the UC official statistics can be found on Stat-Xplore: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many recipients of compensation from the (a) Armed Forces Compensation Scheme and (b) War Pension Scheme have had their payments considered as income in welfare benefit means tests in (i) 2019, (ii) 2020, (iii) 2021, (iv) 2022 and (v) 2023.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Payments are not taken into account in Universal Credit. Guaranteed Income Payments, Service Attributable Pensions and service-attributable, non-taxable Service Invalidity Pensions are also not taken into account.
The requested data is not available for other welfare benefits.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department deducted from welfare benefits as a result of (a) Armed Forces Compensation Scheme and (b) War Pensions Scheme payments being considered as income in (i) 2019, (ii) 2020, (iii) 2021, (iv) 2022 and (v) 2023.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Payments are not taken into account in Universal Credit. Guaranteed Income Payments, Service Attributable Pensions and service-attributable, non-taxable Service Invalidity Pensions are also not taken into account.
The requested data is not available for other welfare benefits.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 17 April 2023 to Question 175486 on Universal Credit: Armed Forces, how many Universal Credit claimants have been identified as (a) serving and (b) having served in the armed forces for the assessment periods ending on 1 June 2023.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Data is not held on the total number of UC claimants who are currently serving in the Armed Forces or who have served in the past, but data is held on those who have identified themselves so far.
The way the data is collected means the claimants for whom an Armed Forces status is recorded are not representative of the UC caseload as a whole. This means it is not yet possible to produce reliable estimates of the overall number or proportion of UC claimants who are currently serving in the Armed Forces or who have served in the past.
Increases in the numbers of claimants with a recorded status of “currently serving” or “served in the past” do not necessarily mean the overall numbers of claimants who are currently serving or have served in the past have increased and may reflect increases in the number of claimants for whom data is held as data coverage improves over time.
The table below shows how the proportion of the GB UC caseload with a recorded Armed Forces status has changed over time. It also shows how many claimants on the caseload had a recorded status of each type.
GB UC caseload by recorded Armed Forces status
UC caseload month | Proportion of caseload with a recorded status | Currently serving | Served in the past | Not served | Prefer not to say | No recorded status |
July 2022 | 51% | 3,000 | 38,600 | 2,804,200 | 21,000 | 2,753,300 |
August 2022 | 53% | 3,200 | 40,100 | 2,912,500 | 21,800 | 2,683,400 |
September 2022 | 54% | 3,200 | 41,400 | 3,002,500 | 22,400 | 2,614,700 |
October 2022 | 56% | 3,300 | 42,800 | 3,131,700 | 23,400 | 2,530,000 |
November 2022 | 57% | 3,300 | 44,000 | 3,218,300 | 24,000 | 2,467,100 |
December 2022 | 58% | 3,400 | 45,100 | 3,299,400 | 24,600 | 2,407,600 |
January 2023 | 59% | 3,500 | 46,200 | 3,375,000 | 25,400 | 2,349,700 |
February 2023 | 61% | 3,500 | 47,600 | 3,462,600 | 26,200 | 2,296,400 |
March 2023 | 62% | 3,600 | 48,300 | 3,530,800 | 26,700 | 2,243,800 |
April 2023 (provisional) | 63% | 3,800 | 50,200 | 3,667,900 | 27,900 | 2,196,800 |
Notes:
1. Data is not collected on the Armed Forces status of UC claimants in Northern Ireland. The figures provided only relate to Great Britain.
2. Percentages are rounded to the nearest percent and numbers are rounded to the nearest hundred.
3. Figures may be subject to retrospective changes as more up-to-date data becomes available or if methodological improvements are made. Figures relating to April 2023 are provisional and may be subject to revision.
4. Due to methodological improvements, these figures are based on the Official Statistics UC caseload definition. Some previous figures have used an alternative caseload definition based on assessment period end dates.
5. Further information on the caseload definition used for the UC official statistics can be found on Stat-Xplore: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 17 April 2023 to Question 175486 on Universal Credit: Armed Forces, how many Universal Credit claimants have been identified as (a) serving and (b) having served in the armed forces by local authority area for the assessment periods ending on 1 March 2023.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many job centres have Armed Forces Champions.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department’s Armed Forces Champions model is based around champions being allocated to Jobcentre Plus Districts, rather than individual Jobcentres.
We introduced our new model for Armed Forces Champions in 2021, which comprises 50 Armed Forces Champions working alongside 11 Group Leads at managerial level. It means for the first time that there is at least one Armed Forces Champion role allocated to each Jobcentre Plus District supported by a Group network, with resources in the network targeted where there is geographically particularly high levels of demand.
In addition to the Armed Forces Champions roles, all Work Coaches are trained to provide veterans and others with the help and support they need to access both benefits and employment support.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which job centres have an Armed Forces Champion.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department’s Armed Forces Champions model is based around champions being allocated to Jobcentre Plus Districts, rather than individual Jobcentres.
We introduced our new model for Armed Forces Champions in 2021, which comprises 50 Armed Forces Champions working alongside 11 Group Leads at managerial level. It means for the first time that there is at least one Armed Forces Champion role allocated to each Jobcentre Plus District supported by a Group network, with resources in the network targeted where there is geographically particularly high levels of demand.
In addition to the Armed Forces Champions roles, all Work Coaches are trained to provide veterans and others with the help and support they need to access both benefits and employment support.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much it costs to train an Armed Forces Champion in a job centre.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Armed Forces Champion (AFC) provides a key role in connecting DWP and the Armed Forces community.
As former experienced Work Coaches, AFCs will have completed the full Work Coach learning and had the opportunity to embed their learning prior to becoming an Armed Forces Champion. DWP provides AFCs with point of need learning which covers the knowledge and skills required to provide tailored support for ex-service personnel.
The learning includes support with the transition to civilian life, support and training with looking for work, support for those with health conditions and signposting to specialist organisations and charities aimed at helping ex-service personnel, for example the Armed Forces Benevolent fund, Veterans UK, Armed forces Pensions and Armed Forces Job Centre services.
AFC training is facilitated by internal DWP officers, lasting 4 weeks, which based on estimated salary costs for both Work Coach and facilitator comes to £4,186. On completion of the 4-week Work Coach learning the AFC completes a 2-day self-paced workbook, using estimated salary costs this equates to £386.44 per Armed Forces Champion.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what training is provided to Armed Forces Champions in job centres.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Armed Forces Champion (AFC) provides a key role in connecting DWP and the Armed Forces community.
As former experienced Work Coaches, AFCs will have completed the full Work Coach learning and had the opportunity to embed their learning prior to becoming an Armed Forces Champion. DWP provides AFCs with point of need learning which covers the knowledge and skills required to provide tailored support for ex-service personnel.
The learning includes support with the transition to civilian life, support and training with looking for work, support for those with health conditions and signposting to specialist organisations and charities aimed at helping ex-service personnel, for example the Armed Forces Benevolent fund, Veterans UK, Armed forces Pensions and Armed Forces Job Centre services.
AFC training is facilitated by internal DWP officers, lasting 4 weeks, which based on estimated salary costs for both Work Coach and facilitator comes to £4,186. On completion of the 4-week Work Coach learning the AFC completes a 2-day self-paced workbook, using estimated salary costs this equates to £386.44 per Armed Forces Champion.